Brussels – Laptops, tablets, desktop computers, but above all phones and smartphones. European homes are full of old electronic devices: once replaced, 51 per cent of EU citizens choose to keep their mobile phones, perhaps thinking that they will need them again sooner or later, or perhaps because they are unaware of the possibility of recycling them.
Data released by Eurostat show that member countries are far from correctly implementing the European Directive on Electronic Waste (WEEE), which promotes the reuse, recycling, and recovery of such waste and establishes obligations for separate collection, treatment, and safe disposal. From Finland to Italy, from Portugal to Romania, the behaviour towards our old “digital extensions” does not change. At the EU level, as far as phones are concerned, only 11 per cent have opted for recycling. Eighteen per cent choose to dispose of them by giving them away or selling them to someone else, while two per cent even throw them in the trash bin.
As for obsolete laptops and tablets, 34 per cent of Europeans decide to keep them at home, and 12 per cent decide to give them away or sell them. The recycling rate remains the same—11 per cent. Old desktop computers are recycled slightly more, 15 per cent, perhaps also because of their size.
It is true that the task of recycling all the components of a smartphone is an arduous one. The electronic component takes up about 20 per cent of the weight of the entire device (which is between 150 and 300 grams), while the rest is made up of the body (usually plastic), the battery (also made up of precious and hazardous materials), the display, and ferrous metals, particularly steel, for example from screws. Then there are copper, minute quantities of gold and silver, as well as iron, nickel, and tin.
According to the most recent data released by the European Parliament, the amount of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market in the EU increased from 7.6 million tonnes in 2012 to 13.5 million tonnes in 2021. Over the same period, the collection of such equipment for recycling rose from 3 to 4.9 tonnes. On average, 11 kilograms of electrical and electronic waste per inhabitant were collected in the EU in 2021.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
